"Well, sorry to disappoint, then," Loki responds, sounding a bit put off, as though he's tired of hearing about it. Which in a sense he is, and not because he's tired of being valuable solely for what he can do (though he is also that, on some abstract and unimportant level), but because he's really not keen on talking about it any longer, particularly in public.
"I wouldn't worry about Stark, by the way. Or at least I wouldn't worry about Stark for long. He's really not the type to repeat a performance, for one, and he's even worse to live with than I am, for another." At least Loki keeps mostly to himself in domestic settings. Somehow he doesn't think Stark is the same, save of course when he's working, and then the rest of the world may as well not exist. Loki knows. He's taken advantage of that more than once.
"But good to know I'm safe. My flat is a bit of a mess at the moment." Mostly because, thanks to a fit of his pique, all of his books had thrown themselves off of the shelves. Live in a place long enough, weave oneself into it thoroughly enough, and it starts to know you. Or, more accurately, he'd subconsciously played on the threads of magic he'd spun around his living space and that had produced a tangible result.
Sometimes, though, it looked like sentience. Sometimes, perhaps, it nearly was.
Kenzi just smirks. It's one of those smug as all hell, I know something you don't know smirks. If Bo wanted to, she could have Stark eating out of the palm of her hand. Among other things...
But Bo wasn't like that. The girl wouldn't even abuse her powers to get free shoes! That's some hardcore willpower right there. Power being the keyword. Kenzi was nowhere near that strong. If she'd been born with magical sex powers, she'd be a lot worse than just a small-time thief turned private detective. That much power can get to a person. The things Bo could do if she put her mind to it-- it could be bad. Really bad. Kenzi probably wasn't the best choice of a conscience, either.
"Yeah well, I'm gonna worry anyway. Worrying is just what us sidekicks do. People can put up with a lot of things for a rich genius." CoughRYANcough. Maybe that's why she didn't trust this Tony mook. He was like a cross between Ryan and Vex. Both total douchebags. "I should probably get back... "
But it was sooooo obvious that she really didn't want to leave.
Loki chuckles softly and pulls his mobile from his pocket to set it on the table between them. An essential for any self-respecting supervillain, really, mobile phones, particularly the sort with sophisticated organisational aids. And instagram support, if one were to ask Loki, which nobody ever does.
"Text it and see," he says, sliding the phone towards her. It is a real number. It might not be useful for very much longer, since avoiding a terribly long paper trail is also essential, but for the time being it works, and it'll continue to work for as long as he needs it to do.
"I neglected to mention that the event to which I've invited you is black tie. Don't worry if you don't have a dress; we can go find one tomorrow if you're not too terribly busy. I'll bill Stark." After a fashion. He grins.
"In fact, you may as well anyway; I've been looking for an excuse to extort him for ages."
Just wait until she starts challenging him in Draw Something.
She picks up her own phone and fires off a text at lightning speeds. Kids and their technology. She watches the phone on the table closely, almost daring it to not light up.
500 bonus points. Current score: 832!
"I kinda figured. Don't look so worried, Jökulsson. I clean up nice. Promise." But hey, dress shopping on someone else's dime? That could be hilarious. Guilt-free shopping is the true way to a girl's heart. Even if it's only guilt-free because Kenzi has no soul when it comes to material possessions and taking from those who have more than enough.
"So you want to pick out dresses with a total stranger. That's either an excuse to see me again or you're actually into dudes. Are you in love with Stark?" Gaaaaaaaaaaasp. "Am I your beard? You're totes just using me to make him jealous, aren't you? I knew it. Way too good to be true."
She curls a lock of her hair around her finger and bites her lower lip. Hardcore flirting tactics initiated. Bo is so much better at this shit. Ugh.
Loki laughs at that, bright and cheerful. The flirting is obvious, and amusing, and he could do oh so much better if he were so inclined. Maybe later. He did say he wouldn't try to sleep with her on the first date, and while it wouldn't be remotely the first time he'd lied about that, it would open the door to oh so many other things he's not inclined to address right now.
Besides, girl like her? Girl after a thrill? Something different and dangerous? She'll be worth the wait just for that alone, and she might just enjoy it better later.
Assuming she still wants anything to do with him, of course, and if she doesn't... well. Plenty of other fish. Dizzyingly many.
Loki leans back in his chair, visibly pouting. "You think I'd go for a man like that? I was unaware that you thought so poorly of me. I'd not have asked you if I had known."
He crosses his arms. "Accusing me of being a fairy tale monster is one thing, accusing me of being at all fond of Tony Stark is quite another."
Though he is, of course, in an exceptionally abstract way. He needs men like Stark. The world frankly isn't half as much fun without them.
"No, I'm just trying to get the most out of bothering the man for once. I owe him, and the evening will be all the better if nobody's tutting at what you're wearing. You'll see, it'll be fantastic." He relaxes his posture, smiling again. "And then you can... toddle off home or whatever it is you plan to do when you're done with me."
"Clearly I just have to get to know you better so I don't make some poor judgement call like that in the future. Now I know that, A; you get all huffy when I offend you and it's totally adorbs, and B; You're so very NOT into him that you need the opposite of him which would be... female, dirt poor, non-genius that doesn't fly around in a heinously-painted, tin can outfit."
Though she has no idea, personality-wise, Kenzi and Tony are pretty similar. The thrill-seeking, sarcastic, penchant for flirting with danger is the same. So is the quick wit. But there are also a lot of differences with circumstance being the most notable of them all.
Kenzi smirks, getting up from her seat and downing the rest of her coffee before setting the empty cup back on the table. "Fantastic, huh? I'm holding you to that. As for whatever it is I plan to do, I try to plan as little as possible. What happens, happens. But I guess I have some work to do if you're gonna stop by the hotel tomorrow to pick me up. Text when you're in the lobby."
She turns to head for the door, stops, and looks back at him over her shoulder. "I'm really glad you literally ran into me."
Funny how that happened. Weird how things work out. Still incredibly suspicious.
For a moment Loki simply looks at her with a faint smile on his lips. Oh, her interest is already piqued. May as well.
"And I'm glad you decided to follow me," he says, and leaves it at that, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He's no intention of clarifying whether or not he means out of the hotel or to the café afterwards. Let her work it out for herself if she likes. Let her speculate.
"Tomorrow, then," he agrees before giving a bit of a wave and turning back to his coffee, shaking his head slowly and smiling to himself. Funny thing. Clever thing. He does like that. Pretty, too, but Loki has seen so very many pretty things in his life. After a while they all start to blend together. Lovely she may be, but her value -- and her rarity, the extent of which he has yet to assess -- lies elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see how she reacts to him when she knows rather than simply suspecting, when it becomes entirely plain that he's not only not human, but that her fairy tale monster reference wasn't far off the mark. Interesting, yes, and Loki isn't optimistic that it'll be positive, but so it goes. The game is more important than the outcome and Loki is used to losing.
He arrives the next day in the early afternoon, close enough to noon to make him look eager but not inconsiderate of Kenzi's actual purpose for being in the city. Not that he couldn't make her forget if he wanted, he's certain, but that's not the point. Right now he's still deliberately straddling the line between normal and abnormal. When he reaches the lobby he folds himself into a chair and sends off the text:
Apologise to your roommate for me, would you? I'm waiting in the lobby to whisk you away and I've no intention of returning you for several hours at least.
How did I know you'd use punctuation, caps, and actual words in your text? Be down in ten!
A majority of those ten minutes were spent checking her hair, re-applying makeup, and trying to cover up the bags under her eyes from a late night combined with an early morning. Bo was unsurprisingly cool with everything that went down last night and totally encouraging about meeting up with him again today, lead or no lead. The amount of exceedingly good possibilities with this definitely outweighed the potential for disaster. Besides, Kenzi could take care of herself! ...Most of the time.
Bo had her own shit to deal with. The kitchens had definitely been a valuable source of info and the unaligned succubus was taking care of business while the human sidekick quickly kissed her on the cheek and left her to her own devices.
Trying to hide the look of pleasant surprise when she stepped out of the elevator and saw him sitting there in what was DEFINITELY not a suit was way more difficult than it should be. Damn. Was it even possible for him to look hotter than he had the other night? Apparently yes. It really was.
"Hey, nerd. And here I thought science-guys were required by law to be seen in sweater vests and bowties."
That earns a quirked eyebrow as Loki lifts himself to his feet, but there's a bright smile on its tail. "No, not yet, but if I'd known that's what you were expecting I'd have tried harder to accomodate."
He could, too. A good liar -- a good jester, as he occasionally calls himself in his more self-deprecating moods -- has a suit of armour for all occasions, and Loki is a very good liar. Which is why he knows that in this case to have dressed too appropriately would have been as obvious a tell as to dress too well. Casual is good. Casual works.
"Was she terribly upset to lose you?" he asks with a sympathetic furrowing of the brow. "I would be. Anyone ought to be. Fortunately for me I'm not at all kind enough to care. Shall we?"
Sordid, boring business, the setup. The flagging of taxis and the shopping and the dinners, but Loki doesn't mind terribly in this case. Dating is an utter waste of time, a string of pointless lies people tell one another until they feel comfortable enough to tell the truth, but at least it isn't likely to last much longer. Besides, right now it's only a means to an end, and that makes it somewhat more acceptable.
The company, he has to admit, isn't bad either, mortal or no, and she looks rather charming today (he'll tell her so later, bit too much now, bit too obvious), so at least it won't be a total bust. And so Loki offers his arm and a smile as he nods towards the door.
"I haven't anywhere in particular in mind, thought we'd make a day of it, look around a bit, stop to eat -- I hope you don't mind?"
"Nah, you're good. This way I can be seen in public with you and not feel the burning, burning shame of a thousand suns." Casual definitely works.
Kenzi grins, brushing her hair over her ear and looking at the ground because it's so much easier than looking at his face when he's saying stuff like that. Jeeze. Does this guy come with an off switch? Because she'd actually, probably, never use it. "Honestly? She owes me one. Or ... five. Actually she owes me seventeen, not that I'm counting. Let's blow this popsicle stand." She happily loops her arm through his.
New York was like a bigger, brighter, more colourful Toronto. Very similar, but so much more to explore and see and check out. It was easier being in tourist mode when you have a native, transplanted or not, to escort you. With Bo, they probably would have run into trouble. Not that trouble was necessarily a bad thing, it was just not the most convenient thing in a new city with no allies.
"Sure. I'm up for anything! Whatever you wanna do is cool with me." As proven by the excitement on her face. "You know food makes this count as date number two, right? Two dates in two days. Then that party. We're practically an item and you don't even know my favourite colour or what kind of toothpaste I use and I don't what your fave pizza toppings are."
"Ouch," Loki replies, looking down at her with a wounded expression. "And here I thought you might just like me for who I am, not the clothes I wear."
A joke. Metaphorically as well as literally speaking, everyone who likes him (a very short list of people indeed) likes him for the latter reason. He's used to it, and so the mock hurt shifts back to a teasing smile as easily as Loki slips his skin. Even when wearing his own face he can put on disguises.
"Pineapple and tuna fish, incidentally," he adds as he waves down a taxi. That he knows where to go to find clothing of the quality and price for which he's looking is solely the result of last night's research into the matter, but he drops the street corner as if he knows it for that reason and not for the rather delightful ice cream vendor a few blocks to the south.
"Pickles are good too. Possibly all three together if I'm feeling adventurous, with a few dashes of hot sauce. As for you, I don't know, black? And something minty with a whitener, no? Isn't that what everybody uses these days?" Step up from chewing on green twigs in so many ways... step down in so many others.
New York is lovely today, vibrant and furiously alive, filthy and teeming with so much life that it blazes in Loki's consciousness like a massive conflagration. His first several days here he couldn't sleep for how it burned him.
Now he adores it, loves to step out from his carefully-insulated flat and drink it all in. It has him feeling generous enough to be teasingly gallant, stepping first from the taxi once they arrive and he's paid the driver and offering his hand to Kenzi with a neat little bow. Strange, how ready they are, these fragile little things, to eat up what looks like kindness, no matter that they ought to know better.
But then maybe it is kindness, a bit. Kindness that will end, inevitably must end, but exists in snapshot fashion for the stretch of the moment in which it is enacted. The lens of time weights and warps all things, relativity in action, but when one erases it one may still see things as they once were, unclouded. Loki knows this better than anyone. It's why he can't help but feel fondness for the once-brother he despises.
"Well," he announces cheerfully, however unhappy the turning of his thoughts, "it's your dress, so you decide which shops we look in. Only logical. Drag away."
"Just because I probably do like you for who you are, doesn't mean I want to be seen with you lookin' like a fool and let you kill my rep." She's joking. Of course she's joking. Not only does she not give a damn about her reputation, thank you very much Joan Jett, she's not that shallow. A little shallow, yes, but not that shallow. Most of the time Kenzi's hard exterior is just covering up for a gooey, sweet, way too soft center that gets her into more trouble than it's worth. She knows better, always knows better, but that doesn't mean she can just turn off her stupid-squishy heart. It's how she got in deep with Bo even when common sense was telling her to run.
"Please tell me you're joking. That sounds about eight different kinds of horrible. At least opt for extra cheese if you're gonna commit pizza sacrilege! Hot sauce, yes. Other things, not together!" She raises an eyebrow, fighting a smirk, "Purple and whatever's on sale. Now you know."
Stupid emotions. There's gotta be a way to get rid of those things. It would definitely make it easier to not go all freakin' melty just because a guy goes into total gentleman mode and bows and offers his hand and junk. Jeeze! Okay, so maybe no one will notice how she can't stop smiling. Totally not inwardly freaking out here. Nope. Not even a little bit. This guy isn't charming! It's lame and not at all making her swoon!
... She totally just swooned a little.
As for the dragging, that was definitely happening. Bo got to do this kind of thing all the time! And more often than not, some rich guy with ulterior motives was footing the bill. Really, it's only fair the human gets a turn. Succubus powers be dammed! She heads into a glam-looking boutique, still unable to stop smiling, and heads towards a display near the back, quite obviously attracted to the all-around shiny look.
"Metallics are totally in this season. Unless you try working the gold and red look, then you just look tacky." CoughTONYcough.
Loki laughs, sharp and genuine, perhaps slightly unhinged but who isn't, these days? Certainly the sort of fellow who'd take a girl out to buy expensive clothing on their second meeting, without any guarantee he'll ever see her again after the next date, isn't quite playing with a full deck.
"No, God no, no red and gold, the boost to his ego would be utterly insufferable." He grins down at her a moment before bending forward, suddenly solemn, to meet her at eye level.
"Let's see," he says softly, reaching out to take her gently by the shoulder with one hand while the other brushes a stray strand of hair away from her neck. His eyes light on her lips, and linger.
"Red would suit you, though." Loki's voice is low, quiet and admiring, his gaze intent as it flicks over her features. Gently he drags the second knuckles of his first two fingers, lightly curled, along the sternocleidomastoid from interclavicular notch to the edge of her jaw just below her ear. Such a delicate, elegant muscle. So easily severed.
"Or green, perhaps." Like the eyes that flick back up to meet hers, perhaps. Green and black and bronze. What a pair they'd make. "Though you'd look lovely in anything, I expect."
Don't look at his eyes, don't look into his eyes, don't you dare--
Fuck. She looked. She's doomed.
There's a moment where she forgets how to breathe. When she does figure it out again, it's her heart's turn to betray her by skipping a few beats here and there as he touches her. Hours, Kenzi. You've known this guy for hours. Not even a lot of hours! Come on. Usually she's better than this. Guys have to work for a piece of this, but he's just... something else entirely. It's not a fae thing. She'd know. It's not like the hypnotic effect of a selkie and it's definitely not like when Bo turns up the succubus juice. It's just him. Being totally gorgeous. And acting remotely interested.
It's easy to be overlooked when you're always standing next to Bo. She's not quite sure what to do with this kind of attention anymore. But the whole... slack-jawed staring, looking totally and completely awestruck thing? Probably not so attractive. She snaps out of it and plays it off with a smile as she places a hand against his chest just to get some room to breathe without turning into a starry-eyed zombie all over again.
"Green sounds good. I can work with that." She replaces the open palm with her index finger, poking him in the chest, "You're good. Did you minor in flattery? Or is that just an international-gentleman thing? Any other girl would probs be a quivering mess on the floor by now."
Ha. Like she's not a total mess on the inside. The rack of gowns is a welcome distraction from his too-green eyes and perfect cheekbones and perfect everything. Dammit.
Loki rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly at the floor. Well, that worked surprisingly well. It'd be amusing if it weren't so surprising. And vaguely sad, if he bothers to think about it.
"I... no? I was only being honest," he says, sounding just confused enough for it to ring true. "I'm not trying to... I'm only saying."
After that he's silent for a time, stepping back to watch her pick through the dresses, brooding. His eyes travel the store (lingering, of course, on the scarves, of which he's rather fond for so many reasons -- comfort, the hint of colour they add to a formal suit, the fact that they can be turned into a makeshift weapon if need be) and he sucks on his lower lip.
"She must look quite good, your roommate, if you really don't hear that very often," he says softly, smiling at Kenzi a bit sadly before he brightens.
"It's alright; I know how it is. My brother is much better looking than I am. Big blonde and stupid. You and I will just have to settle, it seems." He moves up to stand alongside her, setting his palm atop her head gently. "For some reason that only makes me feel like the lucky one."
Wow. He just hit the nail right on the head there. Maybe he really is psychic... ffff-- nah. No way. He would have called her out on a few choices thoughts by now. But she believes him. For some likely-stupid reason, she believes that he doesn't mean anything by it. That it's genuine. And that freaks the hell out of her but also has her hooked.
"Bo was genetically created to be the sexiest thing on the planet. It's not her fault she was born pants-splittingly gorgeous. Just her DNA or whatevs. It's nature." Oh. But. That was a compliment. Another one. Jeeze. She returns the smile, managing to look only slightly uncomfortable as she pulls out a long, green silk dress for a closer look.
The comment about his brother makes her smirk. He's sharing. He IS a real person and not some crazy-hot hallucination. There's back story. She looks up from the dress when he touches her, he steals her attention so easily. "Stupid blonde? Poor walking stereotype. Bet he gets everything handed to him."
Settle? She... she could settle.
Kenzi puts the dress back on the rack and turns slowly to face him. "Me and luck don't usually mix. I know this really great anti-jinx ritual, though, If you really wanna feel lucky and not at all cursed by me. Super easy. There's only one step. All you have to do is kiss me."
"I wouldn't worry about Stark, by the way. Or at least I wouldn't worry about Stark for long. He's really not the type to repeat a performance, for one, and he's even worse to live with than I am, for another." At least Loki keeps mostly to himself in domestic settings. Somehow he doesn't think Stark is the same, save of course when he's working, and then the rest of the world may as well not exist. Loki knows. He's taken advantage of that more than once.
"But good to know I'm safe. My flat is a bit of a mess at the moment." Mostly because, thanks to a fit of his pique, all of his books had thrown themselves off of the shelves. Live in a place long enough, weave oneself into it thoroughly enough, and it starts to know you. Or, more accurately, he'd subconsciously played on the threads of magic he'd spun around his living space and that had produced a tangible result.
Sometimes, though, it looked like sentience. Sometimes, perhaps, it nearly was.
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But Bo wasn't like that. The girl wouldn't even abuse her powers to get free shoes! That's some hardcore willpower right there. Power being the keyword. Kenzi was nowhere near that strong. If she'd been born with magical sex powers, she'd be a lot worse than just a small-time thief turned private detective. That much power can get to a person. The things Bo could do if she put her mind to it-- it could be bad. Really bad. Kenzi probably wasn't the best choice of a conscience, either.
"Yeah well, I'm gonna worry anyway. Worrying is just what us sidekicks do. People can put up with a lot of things for a rich genius." CoughRYANcough. Maybe that's why she didn't trust this Tony mook. He was like a cross between Ryan and Vex. Both total douchebags. "I should probably get back... "
But it was sooooo obvious that she really didn't want to leave.
"You swear that's not a fake number?"
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"Text it and see," he says, sliding the phone towards her. It is a real number. It might not be useful for very much longer, since avoiding a terribly long paper trail is also essential, but for the time being it works, and it'll continue to work for as long as he needs it to do.
"I neglected to mention that the event to which I've invited you is black tie. Don't worry if you don't have a dress; we can go find one tomorrow if you're not too terribly busy. I'll bill Stark." After a fashion. He grins.
"In fact, you may as well anyway; I've been looking for an excuse to extort him for ages."
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She picks up her own phone and fires off a text at lightning speeds. Kids and their technology. She watches the phone on the table closely, almost daring it to not light up.
500 bonus points. Current score: 832!
"I kinda figured. Don't look so worried, Jökulsson. I clean up nice. Promise." But hey, dress shopping on someone else's dime? That could be hilarious. Guilt-free shopping is the true way to a girl's heart. Even if it's only guilt-free because Kenzi has no soul when it comes to material possessions and taking from those who have more than enough.
"So you want to pick out dresses with a total stranger. That's either an excuse to see me again or you're actually into dudes. Are you in love with Stark?" Gaaaaaaaaaaasp. "Am I your beard? You're totes just using me to make him jealous, aren't you? I knew it. Way too good to be true."
She curls a lock of her hair around her finger and bites her lower lip. Hardcore flirting tactics initiated. Bo is so much better at this shit. Ugh.
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Besides, girl like her? Girl after a thrill? Something different and dangerous? She'll be worth the wait just for that alone, and she might just enjoy it better later.
Assuming she still wants anything to do with him, of course, and if she doesn't... well. Plenty of other fish. Dizzyingly many.
Loki leans back in his chair, visibly pouting. "You think I'd go for a man like that? I was unaware that you thought so poorly of me. I'd not have asked you if I had known."
He crosses his arms. "Accusing me of being a fairy tale monster is one thing, accusing me of being at all fond of Tony Stark is quite another."
Though he is, of course, in an exceptionally abstract way. He needs men like Stark. The world frankly isn't half as much fun without them.
"No, I'm just trying to get the most out of bothering the man for once. I owe him, and the evening will be all the better if nobody's tutting at what you're wearing. You'll see, it'll be fantastic." He relaxes his posture, smiling again. "And then you can... toddle off home or whatever it is you plan to do when you're done with me."
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Though she has no idea, personality-wise, Kenzi and Tony are pretty similar. The thrill-seeking, sarcastic, penchant for flirting with danger is the same. So is the quick wit. But there are also a lot of differences with circumstance being the most notable of them all.
Kenzi smirks, getting up from her seat and downing the rest of her coffee before setting the empty cup back on the table. "Fantastic, huh? I'm holding you to that. As for whatever it is I plan to do, I try to plan as little as possible. What happens, happens. But I guess I have some work to do if you're gonna stop by the hotel tomorrow to pick me up. Text when you're in the lobby."
She turns to head for the door, stops, and looks back at him over her shoulder. "I'm really glad you literally ran into me."
Funny how that happened. Weird how things work out. Still incredibly suspicious.
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"And I'm glad you decided to follow me," he says, and leaves it at that, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He's no intention of clarifying whether or not he means out of the hotel or to the café afterwards. Let her work it out for herself if she likes. Let her speculate.
"Tomorrow, then," he agrees before giving a bit of a wave and turning back to his coffee, shaking his head slowly and smiling to himself. Funny thing. Clever thing. He does like that. Pretty, too, but Loki has seen so very many pretty things in his life. After a while they all start to blend together. Lovely she may be, but her value -- and her rarity, the extent of which he has yet to assess -- lies elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see how she reacts to him when she knows rather than simply suspecting, when it becomes entirely plain that he's not only not human, but that her fairy tale monster reference wasn't far off the mark. Interesting, yes, and Loki isn't optimistic that it'll be positive, but so it goes. The game is more important than the outcome and Loki is used to losing.
He arrives the next day in the early afternoon, close enough to noon to make him look eager but not inconsiderate of Kenzi's actual purpose for being in the city. Not that he couldn't make her forget if he wanted, he's certain, but that's not the point. Right now he's still deliberately straddling the line between normal and abnormal. When he reaches the lobby he folds himself into a chair and sends off the text:
Apologise to your roommate for me, would you? I'm waiting in the lobby to whisk you away and I've no intention of returning you for several hours at least.
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A majority of those ten minutes were spent checking her hair, re-applying makeup, and trying to cover up the bags under her eyes from a late night combined with an early morning. Bo was unsurprisingly cool with everything that went down last night and totally encouraging about meeting up with him again today, lead or no lead. The amount of exceedingly good possibilities with this definitely outweighed the potential for disaster. Besides, Kenzi could take care of herself! ...Most of the time.
Bo had her own shit to deal with. The kitchens had definitely been a valuable source of info and the unaligned succubus was taking care of business while the human sidekick quickly kissed her on the cheek and left her to her own devices.
Trying to hide the look of pleasant surprise when she stepped out of the elevator and saw him sitting there in what was DEFINITELY not a suit was way more difficult than it should be. Damn. Was it even possible for him to look hotter than he had the other night? Apparently yes. It really was.
"Hey, nerd. And here I thought science-guys were required by law to be seen in sweater vests and bowties."
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He could, too. A good liar -- a good jester, as he occasionally calls himself in his more self-deprecating moods -- has a suit of armour for all occasions, and Loki is a very good liar. Which is why he knows that in this case to have dressed too appropriately would have been as obvious a tell as to dress too well. Casual is good. Casual works.
"Was she terribly upset to lose you?" he asks with a sympathetic furrowing of the brow. "I would be. Anyone ought to be. Fortunately for me I'm not at all kind enough to care. Shall we?"
Sordid, boring business, the setup. The flagging of taxis and the shopping and the dinners, but Loki doesn't mind terribly in this case. Dating is an utter waste of time, a string of pointless lies people tell one another until they feel comfortable enough to tell the truth, but at least it isn't likely to last much longer. Besides, right now it's only a means to an end, and that makes it somewhat more acceptable.
The company, he has to admit, isn't bad either, mortal or no, and she looks rather charming today (he'll tell her so later, bit too much now, bit too obvious), so at least it won't be a total bust. And so Loki offers his arm and a smile as he nods towards the door.
"I haven't anywhere in particular in mind, thought we'd make a day of it, look around a bit, stop to eat -- I hope you don't mind?"
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Kenzi grins, brushing her hair over her ear and looking at the ground because it's so much easier than looking at his face when he's saying stuff like that. Jeeze. Does this guy come with an off switch? Because she'd actually, probably, never use it. "Honestly? She owes me one. Or ... five. Actually she owes me seventeen, not that I'm counting. Let's blow this popsicle stand." She happily loops her arm through his.
New York was like a bigger, brighter, more colourful Toronto. Very similar, but so much more to explore and see and check out. It was easier being in tourist mode when you have a native, transplanted or not, to escort you. With Bo, they probably would have run into trouble. Not that trouble was necessarily a bad thing, it was just not the most convenient thing in a new city with no allies.
"Sure. I'm up for anything! Whatever you wanna do is cool with me." As proven by the excitement on her face. "You know food makes this count as date number two, right? Two dates in two days. Then that party. We're practically an item and you don't even know my favourite colour or what kind of toothpaste I use and I don't what your fave pizza toppings are."
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A joke. Metaphorically as well as literally speaking, everyone who likes him (a very short list of people indeed) likes him for the latter reason. He's used to it, and so the mock hurt shifts back to a teasing smile as easily as Loki slips his skin. Even when wearing his own face he can put on disguises.
"Pineapple and tuna fish, incidentally," he adds as he waves down a taxi. That he knows where to go to find clothing of the quality and price for which he's looking is solely the result of last night's research into the matter, but he drops the street corner as if he knows it for that reason and not for the rather delightful ice cream vendor a few blocks to the south.
"Pickles are good too. Possibly all three together if I'm feeling adventurous, with a few dashes of hot sauce. As for you, I don't know, black? And something minty with a whitener, no? Isn't that what everybody uses these days?" Step up from chewing on green twigs in so many ways... step down in so many others.
New York is lovely today, vibrant and furiously alive, filthy and teeming with so much life that it blazes in Loki's consciousness like a massive conflagration. His first several days here he couldn't sleep for how it burned him.
Now he adores it, loves to step out from his carefully-insulated flat and drink it all in. It has him feeling generous enough to be teasingly gallant, stepping first from the taxi once they arrive and he's paid the driver and offering his hand to Kenzi with a neat little bow. Strange, how ready they are, these fragile little things, to eat up what looks like kindness, no matter that they ought to know better.
But then maybe it is kindness, a bit. Kindness that will end, inevitably must end, but exists in snapshot fashion for the stretch of the moment in which it is enacted. The lens of time weights and warps all things, relativity in action, but when one erases it one may still see things as they once were, unclouded. Loki knows this better than anyone. It's why he can't help but feel fondness for the once-brother he despises.
"Well," he announces cheerfully, however unhappy the turning of his thoughts, "it's your dress, so you decide which shops we look in. Only logical. Drag away."
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"Please tell me you're joking. That sounds about eight different kinds of horrible. At least opt for extra cheese if you're gonna commit pizza sacrilege! Hot sauce, yes. Other things, not together!" She raises an eyebrow, fighting a smirk, "Purple and whatever's on sale. Now you know."
Stupid emotions. There's gotta be a way to get rid of those things. It would definitely make it easier to not go all freakin' melty just because a guy goes into total gentleman mode and bows and offers his hand and junk. Jeeze! Okay, so maybe no one will notice how she can't stop smiling. Totally not inwardly freaking out here. Nope. Not even a little bit. This guy isn't charming! It's lame and not at all making her swoon!
... She totally just swooned a little.
As for the dragging, that was definitely happening. Bo got to do this kind of thing all the time! And more often than not, some rich guy with ulterior motives was footing the bill. Really, it's only fair the human gets a turn. Succubus powers be dammed! She heads into a glam-looking boutique, still unable to stop smiling, and heads towards a display near the back, quite obviously attracted to the all-around shiny look.
"Metallics are totally in this season. Unless you try working the gold and red look, then you just look tacky." CoughTONYcough.
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"No, God no, no red and gold, the boost to his ego would be utterly insufferable." He grins down at her a moment before bending forward, suddenly solemn, to meet her at eye level.
"Let's see," he says softly, reaching out to take her gently by the shoulder with one hand while the other brushes a stray strand of hair away from her neck. His eyes light on her lips, and linger.
"Red would suit you, though." Loki's voice is low, quiet and admiring, his gaze intent as it flicks over her features. Gently he drags the second knuckles of his first two fingers, lightly curled, along the sternocleidomastoid from interclavicular notch to the edge of her jaw just below her ear. Such a delicate, elegant muscle. So easily severed.
"Or green, perhaps." Like the eyes that flick back up to meet hers, perhaps. Green and black and bronze. What a pair they'd make. "Though you'd look lovely in anything, I expect."
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Fuck. She looked. She's doomed.
There's a moment where she forgets how to breathe. When she does figure it out again, it's her heart's turn to betray her by skipping a few beats here and there as he touches her. Hours, Kenzi. You've known this guy for hours. Not even a lot of hours! Come on. Usually she's better than this. Guys have to work for a piece of this, but he's just... something else entirely. It's not a fae thing. She'd know. It's not like the hypnotic effect of a selkie and it's definitely not like when Bo turns up the succubus juice. It's just him. Being totally gorgeous. And acting remotely interested.
It's easy to be overlooked when you're always standing next to Bo. She's not quite sure what to do with this kind of attention anymore. But the whole... slack-jawed staring, looking totally and completely awestruck thing? Probably not so attractive. She snaps out of it and plays it off with a smile as she places a hand against his chest just to get some room to breathe without turning into a starry-eyed zombie all over again.
"Green sounds good. I can work with that." She replaces the open palm with her index finger, poking him in the chest, "You're good. Did you minor in flattery? Or is that just an international-gentleman thing? Any other girl would probs be a quivering mess on the floor by now."
Ha. Like she's not a total mess on the inside. The rack of gowns is a welcome distraction from his too-green eyes and perfect cheekbones and perfect everything. Dammit.
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"I... no? I was only being honest," he says, sounding just confused enough for it to ring true. "I'm not trying to... I'm only saying."
After that he's silent for a time, stepping back to watch her pick through the dresses, brooding. His eyes travel the store (lingering, of course, on the scarves, of which he's rather fond for so many reasons -- comfort, the hint of colour they add to a formal suit, the fact that they can be turned into a makeshift weapon if need be) and he sucks on his lower lip.
"She must look quite good, your roommate, if you really don't hear that very often," he says softly, smiling at Kenzi a bit sadly before he brightens.
"It's alright; I know how it is. My brother is much better looking than I am. Big blonde and stupid. You and I will just have to settle, it seems." He moves up to stand alongside her, setting his palm atop her head gently. "For some reason that only makes me feel like the lucky one."
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"Bo was genetically created to be the sexiest thing on the planet. It's not her fault she was born pants-splittingly gorgeous. Just her DNA or whatevs. It's nature." Oh. But. That was a compliment. Another one. Jeeze. She returns the smile, managing to look only slightly uncomfortable as she pulls out a long, green silk dress for a closer look.
The comment about his brother makes her smirk. He's sharing. He IS a real person and not some crazy-hot hallucination. There's back story. She looks up from the dress when he touches her, he steals her attention so easily. "Stupid blonde? Poor walking stereotype. Bet he gets everything handed to him."
Settle? She... she could settle.
Kenzi puts the dress back on the rack and turns slowly to face him. "Me and luck don't usually mix. I know this really great anti-jinx ritual, though, If you really wanna feel lucky and not at all cursed by me. Super easy. There's only one step. All you have to do is kiss me."
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